Optimizing Physical Function Following Distal Radius Fracture

Distal Radius Fracture (DRF) is one of the most frequent of all human bone fractures. Wrist and/or finger range of motion (ROM) and grip strength are standard outcome measures used by clinicians to evaluate recovery after a hand injury. ROM is considered to be an important component of joint mobility and relates to measures of functional impairment and disability. Impaired wrist and hand ROM are related to a decrease in grip strength, grasp ability, fine manipulation, and hand function. The relationship between ROM and other physical impairments as they relate to patient-rated outcomes after DRF have not been well identified. The thesis includes three studies. The first study (Chapter 2) is a systematic review and meta analysis of existing literature on the effects of laser irradiation on bone regeneration, suggesting that low power laser can enhance biomechanical indicators of bone during fracture healing in animal models. The second study (Chapter 3) explores the intra-rater, inter-rater, and inter-instrument reliability and construct validity of two digital electro goniometers to measure active wrist and active/passive index finger ROM in patients with limited wrist and/or hand. The results of this study demonstrate that digital goniometry is highly reliable for all measures across occasions, raters and instruments. The moderate correlation between individual joint motions and patient-rated self-reported function suggests that joint motion impairments contribute to functional disability. The third study (Chapter 4) has a specific focus on the relationship between physical impairment outcome measures and patient-rated wrist pain and function in early and late stages after distal radius fracture. Wrist flexion, extension, supination, pronation, grip strength, age and gender, were found to contribute significantly with wrist pain and function. Good wrist arc of motions (close to normal) and moderate grip strength must be recovered to have optimal wrist functional outcomes after distal radius fracture. The thesis concludes with a discussion of the next steps required toward understanding effective mechanisms to promote bone healing and earlier function after DRF, which may lead to more effective patient-centered treatment protocols. Keywords: Bone Healing, Distal Radius Fracture, Physical Impairment, Patient-Rated Wrist Evaluation

Phase control of electromagnetically induced transparency and its applications to tunable group velocity and atom localization

We show that, by simple modifications of the usual three-level $\Lambda$-type scheme used for obtaining electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), phase dependence in the response of the atomic medium to a weak probe field can be introduced. This gives rise to phase dependent susceptibility. By properly controlling phase and amplitudes of the drive fields we obtain variety of interesting effects. On one hand we obtain phase control of the group velocity of a probe field passing through medium to the extent that continuous tuning of the group velocity from subluminal to superluminal and back is possible. While on the other hand, by choosing one of the drive fields to be a standing wave field inside a cavity, we obtain sub-wavelength localization of moving atoms passing through the cavity field.Comment: To Appear in SPIE Proceedings Volume 573

PENGARUH PENEMPATAN DAN PELATIHAN TERHADAP PRODUKTIVITAS KERJA KARYAWAN BAGIAN PRODUKSI PT. NOVATEX RANCAEKEK KABUPATEN BANDUNG

Latar belakang penelitian ini adalah rendahnya produktivitas kerja karyawan. Hal tersebut ditandai dengan hasil produksi dan kualitas produk yang menurun serta capaian produksi yang tidak mencapai target. Solusi utama yang harus dilakukan perusahaan adalah dengan meningkatkan pelaksanaan penempatan dan pelatihan. PT. Novatex merupakan salah satu perusahaan yang bergerak dibidang tekstil. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk (1) mengetahui gambaran penempatan, (2) mengetahui gambaran pelatihan, (3) mengetahui gambaran produktivitas kerja karyawan, (4) mengetahui pengaruh penempatan terhadap produktivitas kerja karyawan, (5) mengetahui pengaruh pelatihan terhadap produktivitas kerja karyawan, (6) mengetahui pengaruh penempatan dan pelatihan terhadap produktivitas kerja PT. Novatex dan (7) hubungan antara penempatan dengan pelatihan PT. Novatex. Objek yang menjadi unit analisis dalam penelitian ini adalah karyawan bagian produksi PT. Novatex. Variabel bebas (X) dalam penelitian ini adalah penempatan dan pelatihan, dan variabel terikat (Y) dari penelitian ini adalah produktivitas kerja karyawan. Jenis penelitian yang digunakan adalah deskriptif, verifikatif. Metode yang digunakan adalah explanatory survey dengan teknik sampel yaitu teknik simple random sampling dengan jumlah sampel 102 responden. Teknik analisa data yang digunakan adalah regresi liniear berganda dengan alat bantu software komputer SPSS 23.0 for windows. Hasil temuan dalam penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa gambaran penempatan dalam kategori baik, gambaran pelatihan dalam kategori baik, gambaran produktivitas kerja karyawan dalam kategori baik, produktivitas kerja karyawan dipengaruhi secara positif oleh penempatan, produktivitas kerja karyawan dipengaruhi secara positif oleh pelatihan dan terdapat hubungan atau korelasi aktif antara penempatan dengan pelatihan. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian ini direkomendasikan sebagai dasar untuk dilakukannya penelitian lain mengenai penempatan dan pelatihan dengan indikator dan objek yang berbeda.;--- The background of this study is low employees work productivity. It is characterized by output results and product quality are decreases and production performance not reach the target. The main solution that company should improve the implementation of the placement and training. PT. Novatex is one company operating in the textile industry. This study aims to (1) find description of the placement, (2) find description of training, (3) find description of employees work productivity, (4) the effect of the placement on employee productivity, (5) the effect of training on employee productivity, ( 6) the effect of the placement and training to work productivity in PT. Novatex and (7) the relationship between the placement and training in PT. Novatex. The object of this research is an employee’s of PT. Novatex. This type of research is descriptive and verification. The method used in this research is the explonatory survey method and the amount of simple random sampling as many 102 people. Technical analysis of the data used in this research in multiple linear regression with SPSS 23.0 for windows. The result of this research are placement in good category, training in good category, employee’s productivity in good category, employee’s productivity is positively influenced by the placement, employee’s productivity is positively influenced by the training, employee’s productivity is positively influenced by the placement and training, and there is a positive relationship or correlation between the placement and training. Based on the result of this research, it is recommended as the basic for other researchabout training program and career development with different indicators and objects

Conceptualization of Spiritual Education in Seyyed Hosein Nasr`s Thoughts and Comparing It with the Current Definitions

The aim of this article is to probe the concept of spiritual education in Seyyed Hosein Nasr`s thoughts and to compare it with the current definitions of the concept. This study has been done through the qualitative method called transcendental analysis. Therefore, that concept was conceptualized through investigating and eliciting the requisite assumptions from Nasr`s philosophical approach. Findings showed that in Nasr`s thoughts, spiritual education is the process of actualizing all the innate potentialities of human as a whole towards his or her monotheistic nature through developing knowledge, love, righteous actions and acquiring virtues to transcend his or her existential layers to train his or her spirit, to know the Ultimate Reality and to return to his or her prototype in God. It is acquirable by taking action based on a heavenly religion. The aim of spiritual education is to know the Ultimate Reality intuitively. Compared to the current definitions, the concluded concept is more similar to that of Carr’s and Tabatabaie’s ideas while it is different from Miller, Duff and Bigger’s perspectives. Keywords: spirituality; spiritual education; conceptual comparison; Seyyed Hosein Nasr

PERANCANGAN AUTOMATIC TRANSFER SWITCH BERBASIS ZELIO (APLIKASI PADA PLTS PEMATANG JOHAR)

Kemajuan dalam bidang teknologi dan penggunaan sistem kontrol secara otomatis telah memberikan kemudahan dalam mendapatkan kendala suatu sistem. Sering perkembangan teknologi, dituntut adanyan keandalanya dari suatu sistem yang digunakan,untuk itu di perlukan adanya penyempurnaan dari sistem kontrol, antara sistem kontrol yang di pergunakan adalah Automatic Transfer Switch dengan menggunakan Programable Logic Controller Zelio sebagai unit kontro. Untuk metode penghematan sumber energi digunakanlah solarcell yang dapat bergerak secara otomatis suplai tenaga pengganti dari PLN yang di pergunakan untuk memenuhi kebutuhan sehari-hari. Penelitian ini penggunaan PLC sebagai sistem kontrol, dimana PLC akan mengontrol ATS yaitu dengan menghidupkan Solar Cell secara otomatis, ketika terjadi pemadaman listrik.Pada penelitian ini, Automatic Transfer Switch menggunakan Zelio Logic Smart Relay dirancang sebagai sarana untuk melakukan peralihan energi dari baterai ke PLN dan sebaliknya secara otomatis. Penelitian ini menguraikan tentang perancangan sistem dalam sekala yang meliputi perancangan perangkat keras, yaitu menggunakan Software Zelio Soft 2. Pengujian dilakukan pada masing-masing blok rangkain pembagi tegangan, otomatisasi dan karaktristik SFC PLN, serta simulasi program dan pensaklaran sistem menggunakan relay

Notions of Female Authority in Modern Shi’i Thought

The dominant Shi’i gender discourse has undergone major shifts in recent years, resulting in revisions of various jurisprudential rulings on women’s rights and status. Among such shifts, there have been rulings on female authority, particularly women’s right to access political decision-making positions. Despite being a controversial topic that has historically faced much clerical debate and disagreement, in recent years a number of reformist clerics have argued in favor of women’s leadership, which is considered a radical departure from the conventional stance. While there are a number of reasons that have contributed to these modernist clerical views in recent years, I argue that the most significant is women’s demands and mobilization for reform of misogynist Shari‘a-based laws. Through reference to clerical gender discourses unfolding in Iran, a Shi’i state, this work will shed light onto the modernist clerical discourses that resulted from women’s strategic and organized pressuring for enhanced women’s political representation. In this regard, this work will examine the interactions between women’s groups and religious elites, in particular pious women’s efforts to publicize and politicize the issue of female authority and women’s access to leadership positions within the Iranian society, as well as the various types of justifications offered by Shi’i clerics for enhancing women’s political rights. By analyzing the recent clerical reformist discourses, this article identifies two dominant types of justifications used by such clerics in explaining the shift from the conventional stand on the subject of female authority, which are categorized as a contextual rereading and a feminist rereading. This analysis will conclude by evaluating the impact of these different types of clerical responses on the future prospects of reform in the society, especially democratization of religious interpretation

Reduktion der Krankheitsaktivität des SAPHO-Syndroms durch Anibiotika-Therapie : eine retrospektive Auswertung von 37 Patienten

Das Akronym SAPHO wurde 1987 eingeführt und beschreibt die verschiedenen Erscheinungen einer seltenen seronegativen Spondyloarthritis in Verbindung mit Hautmanifestationen und Synovitis, Akne, Pustulose, Hyperostose und Osteitis mit und ohne steriler multifokaler Osteomyelitis (CRMO). In der Studie wurde als SAPHO-Syndrom definiert, wenn eine Osteitis mit PPP (pustolosis palmoplantaris) oder Akne auftrat, mit oder ohne Psoriasis vulgaris. Das Vorliegen von CRMO bei Patienten älter als 18 wurde als SAPHO-Syndrom gewertet. Die Ätiologie des SAPHO-Syndroms ist unbekannt, aber eine Assoziation mit Infektionen durch semipathogene Bakterien wie Propionibacterium acnes muss vermutet werden. Hier wurde eine retrospektive Beobachtungsstudie über die mit Antibiotica behandelten SAPHO-Patienten durchgeführt. 37 Patienten mit SAPHO-Syndrom erfüllten die klinischen Kriterien, 21 von ihnen unterzogen sich einer Nadelbiopsie, die von einer Osteitis Läsionsstelle entnommen wurde, und 14 von ihnen zeigten positiv bakteriologische Kulturen für P. acnes. Dreißig Patienten (14 bakteriologisch positiv und 16 ohne Biopsie) wurden über 16 Wochen mit Antibiotika vorzugsweise mit Azithromycin unter Fortführung der bisherigen antirheumatischen Therapie behandelt. Die Aktivität der Hauterkrankung und Osteitis wurde von einem Arzt mit einem Scoring-Modell von 0 bis 6 beurteilt. Darüber hinaus haben die Patienten einen Fragebogen (Health Assessment Score HAS, von 0 bis 6) beantwortet. Die BSG wurde bestimmt und eine MRT-Untersuchung zur Beurteilung der Osteitis Läsion bzw. radiologischen Aktivität durchgeführt (score von 0 bis 2) und zwar nach einer Woche (W1), nach 16 Wochen (W16) und 28 Wochen (W28), sowie 12 Wochen nach der Antibiotikagabe.Für die Dauer der Anwendung scheint die antibiotische Therapie die Krankheit kontrollieren zu können. Nach dem Absetzen des Antibiotikums wurde jedoch ein Rückfall der Krankheit beobachtet. Der Vergleich der Scores in Woche 1 und Woche 28 in diesen12 Patienten zeigte keine signifikanten Unterschiede. Das SAPHO-Syndrom erfordert wie andere chronisch entzündliche Arthropathien eine dauerhafte Therapie, der Einsatz von Antibiotika ist kritisch zu sehen.The acronym SAPHO was introduced in 1987 to unify the various descriptions of a seronegative Spondyloarthritis associated with skin manifestations and to show synovitis, acne, pustulosis, hyperostosis, and osteitis with and without sterile multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO). In this study, SAPHO was defined as having osteitis with PPP (palmoplantar pustulosis) or acne with or without psoriasis vulgaris. Thus presence of CRMO, and patients are older than 18 years are definied as SAPHO-Syndrom. The etiology of SAPHO syndrome is unknown, but an association with infection by semipathogenic bacteria like Propionibacterium acnes has been suggested. We conducted an observational study of SAPHO patients receiving antibiotics. Methods: Thirty-seven patients met the clinical criteria of SAPHO syndrome, 21 of them underwent a needle biopsy of the osteitis lesion, and 14 of them showed positive bacteriological cultures for P. acnes. Thirty patients (14 bacteriological positive and 16 without biopsy) were treated with antibiotics preferably with azithromycin for 16 weeks, while continuing the previous antirheumatic therapy. The activity of skin disease and osteitis were assessed by a physician using a scoring model (from 0 to 6). In addition, patients completed a Health Assessment Score (HAS, from 0 to 6). The erythrocyte sedimentation rate was determined and a MRI (of the osteitis lesion, radiologic activity score from 0 to 2) was performed in week 1 (W1), week 16 (W16), and week 28 (W 28, 12 weeks after antibiotics). For the period of application, the antibiotic therapy seems to have controlled the disease. After antibiotic discontinuation, however, disease relapse was observed. The comparison of the scores in W1 and W 28 in these 12 patients showed no significant differences. SAPHO syndrome thus groups with other chronic inflammatory arthropathies with a need for permanent therapy, but antibiotics are less suitable for longe term therapy

Essays on Public & Health Economics

This dissertation examines three topics in the field of public and health economics using quasi-experimental methods. The first two topics focus on nonprofit institutions and charitable giving, and the last one is about the economics of reproductive health care. First, in the section entitled “Effects of the Minimum Wage on the Nonprofit Sector", we explore how government policies such as minimum wage affect the nonprofit sector. Given the differences between nonprofits and for-profit firms, it is important to investigate how nonprofits respond to labor cost changes. We use data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Internal Revenue Service linked to state minimum wages. We find a negative impact on employment, driven primarily by states with large statutory minimum wage increases. In the section entitled “Charitable Giving Responses to Education Budgets", we study the extent to which government spending on education crowds out private contributions to education. We use data from DonorsChoose.org, an online crowdfunding platform extensively used by public school teachers, and account for endogeneity and economic conditions that affect both spending and donations. We find evidence for crowd-out of private giving, driven by the demand side of the charitable giving market. In the last section, we examine the long-run effects of exposure to legal changes in access to Reproductive Control Technology on women’s education and earnings. We use the Health and Retirement Study data and leverage variation in exposure to legal changes in access across cohorts born in the same states during the 1960s and 1970s. Our estimates suggest increases in levels of education and increases in the probability of working in a Social Security (SS)-covered job in women’s 20s and 30s

Electoral Politics: Making Quotas Work for Women

The goal of reducing gender inequalities in political representation has been elusive in many different kinds of political systems, even though women have made substantial progress in other areas, such as education, employment and healthcare. This wonderfully accessible book argues that gender quotas are an important strategy to improve women’s political representation in legislatures and political parties and it lays out the history of this approach across the globe. It suggests however, that gender quotas are themselves not an ‘easy fix’ to gender discrimination since similarly designed quotas have had different outcomes across cases. The book’s comparative approach untangles the various factors which need to be considered in designing, lobbying for, and implementing gender quotas so that they can be effective. This volume is tremendously useful and informative for activists and scholars across the globe and does a masterful job explaining divergent outcomes both within regions and across them. While teasing out some shared experiences, it encourages coalitions of activists to develop context-appropriate strategies to craft effective campaigns to end women’s exclusion from political decision-making. Hoodfar and Tajali argue that although increasing countries are successfully and creatively using gender quotas, some of the wealthiest long-standing democracies still continue to experience greater legislative gender inequalities